In Q3 2016, Chinese phone maker Huawei lost its crown as the biggest marketshare holder of China’s smartphone market to OPPO and vivo, according to research by the Global research firm Counterpoint Technology Market Research published on Tuesday. OPPO and vivo now hold a 17% and 16% marketshare respectively.
According to the Counterpoint Research report, shipments for OPPO’s smartphones achieved a YoY growth of 82%, thanks to its flagship OPPO R9 which outperformed iPhones throughout the entire quarter. Additionally, OPPO’s mid-range smartphones, the A59 and A37 models, also enjoyed popularity in China’s third and fourth tier cities.
Vivo recorded the highest growth during Q3 2016, with its shipment achieving a YoY growth of 114%. Its flagship X7 series saw strong demand in offline retail.
Huawei in Q3 2016 ranks third with 15% of the marketshare in China, compared to the 16.9% in Q2 2016.
The report speculates that the success of OPPO and vivo partially lies in their focus on traditional offline retail and wider distribution networks, which still constitutes three fourths of smartphone demand.
Xiaomi suffered from a YoY shipment decrease of 22%, possibly due to its lack of presence in the offline market, as its business model driven by e-commerce is hitting a ceiling.
Although Counterpoint’s market monitor is stating that the demand for the iPhone 7 series is shaping up to be better than iPhone 6s series, Apple encountered a YoY shipment decrease of 27% in China’s smartphone market.
Despite the fading halo effect of Apple and Samsung, the Counterpoint Research has shown a YoY growth of 8% in China’s smartphone demands in Q3 2016. This may suggest even more OPPOrtunities for local brands like OPPO, vivo, and LeEco.
(Top photo from Gfan.com)